Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which operates at 13.56 MHz, allows communication between compatible devices such as key fobs, smartphones, tablets, and phablets that are physically placed within contact or a small distance of one another. Once an NFC connection is established, it can secure the use of other wireless technologies (such as Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi, RFID) and transfers data at up to 424 kbps. The extreme proximity required for this type of wireless connection (due to the limited transmission range of the technology) provides sophisticated security for transactions carried out via NFC-enabled devices.
Mobile devices such as smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablets, phablets, pagers, instant messaging devices, and others are often forgotten, lost, or stolen. Existing device loss detection approaches focus primarily on remotely locating or accessing a device after it is lost. This allows prohibiting the device, such as a smartphone, from placing phone calls. It also allows hiding the device owner's information or erasure of sensitive data.
Other methods for tracking and locating lost cell phones include network triangulation and GPS interrogation. These methods do not allow users to automatically and/or instantaneously recover their lost devices.
The most common model for PC application and smartphone login generally relies on a set of username and password that the user enters in a login screen. Once the user name and login are authenticated, the user gains access to the application. This model presents a few security problems.
Multiple users can login with the same username/password. A person can steal a username and password combination without the account owner noticing. The person can login into the system undetected.
For mobile smartphone applications, the smartphone generally goes to sleep mode after one minute to ten minutes of user inaction, and later, the user has to login again. For frequent users of mobile applications, this process is inconvenient and wastes them a lot of time.
In some embodiments, the current invention utilizes features of dynamic NFC electrically erasable programmable memory (EEPROM) and Bluetooth™ on a printed circuit board to provide easy, convenient and secure automatic access to secure specific personal and private data of smartphones thereby increasing security, usability, convenience and efficiency to users while maintaining higher security standards. This new technology also provides multiple sound-emitting alarm alerts when the user smartphone is away from the secure NFC device of the invention, thereby preventing loss and theft of smartphone.
In addition, this present invention use NFC EEPROM and secure software technology with portable electronic devices and wearable devices such as watches, bracelets, and belt buckles. Users of such devices will be able to make payments, transfer data, and send audio and video streams just by bringing one NFC-enabled device within zero to four centimeters of another. Future enhancements allow for endless possibilities, ensuring that NFC will remain a viable and popular technology for years to come.